MIAMI (CBS4) – Battling breast cancer can easily turn into a lonely and uphill battle, but a team of South Florida women found a new way to fight the disease. They are coming together to beat the disease and paddle their way through the battle.

The team is made up of women from different classes and backgrounds ranging from the age of 30-70, the oldest being 72. The team trains to race in dragon boats, but they know their real race is with cancer. Kim Bonomo is the captain.

“We get out here and we’re outside of our comfort zone, this is hard,” said Bonomo.

Some of the women, like Carol Persivale, are undergoing cancer treatment now.

“I’m addicted to this,” said Persivale. ” No chemo, no nothing stop me from doing this.”

Marcella Durham’s encounter with breast cancer came in a different way. She witnessed her partner Sandra battle the disease and knew that support she received was important to her fight.

“All the support in the world I could give her fell short of I can empathize with this, I’ve done it,” said Durham. ” So that’s where I fell short and the SOS team picked it up for me.”

The bond that the teammates built from their experiences is what gave Sandra the strength to keep going through the last year of her battle. Her team members served as pallbearers at her funeral.

The SOS team will cross a different finish line as they raise awareness during National Breast Cancer awareness month.

The powerful force will walk hand-in-hand through Downtown Miami on October 15th as they take part in the 16th annual Susan G. Komen Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Race for the Cure.

The race includes a 5K walk and run, one-mile fun run and a tot run for kids aged 2 – 7. It starts at 8:30 a.m. in front of Bayfront Park.